Negative expressions are very common in Listening Part A. The most common kind of correct response to a negative statement is a positive statement containing a word with an opposite meaning.

Example

On the recording, you hear:

(woman) : Did you get a lot of work done at the library today?
(man) : I couldn’t. It wasn’t very quiet there.
(narrator) : What does the man mean?

In your test book, you read:

(A) The library was noisy
(B) He got a lot done.
(C) He couldn’t quite get to the library today.
(D) The library’s a good place to work because it’s quiet.

The correct answer is answer (A). If it was not quiet in the library, this means that it was noisy. Notice that the correct answer uses noisy, the opposite of quiet.

The following chart shows how negatives can be tested on the TOEFL test.

EXERCISE 2: In this exercise, underline the negative expression in the second line of each short conversation. Then read the question, and choose the best answer to that question. Remember that the best answer is one that uses an opposite meaning.

On the recording, you hear:

1. (woman) : You made so many mistakes in this homework.
(man) : I wasn’t very careful.
(narrator): What does the man mean?

(A) He was rather careless.
(B) He does not care about mistakes.
(C) He took care of the work at home.
(D) He did not carry the work home.

2. (man) : Is there a lot of soup? I’m kind of hungry.
(woman) : Sorry, there’s not a lot.
(narrator): What does the woman mean?

(A) There’s not very much soap.
(B) She doesn’t like soup.
(C) There’s only a little soup.
(D) The man should not be hungry.

3. (woman) : How was the weather on your trip?
(man) : There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
(narrator): What does the man mean?

(A) It was cloudy.
(B) He couldn’t see the sky
(C) It wasn’t very crowded.
(D) There was a lot of sunshine.

Related Posts on listening part A

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comments:

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